The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

Today I will be sharing with you The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo. The Tale of Despereaux is a very unique book. It is about a mouse and a rat that both want to get to the light. The rat is supposed to be in the darkness (the dungeon), but is hoping to get to the light (upstairs in the castle). Then he falls in a soup and almost gets caught, but runs back down to the darkness. On the other hand, Despereaux, the mouse breaks the rules by talking to a human princess and gets put in the dungeon darkness. This mouse loves to listen to music and stories. The Princess Pea gets put in the darkness by the vengeful rat. Will all three of them work together to get out?

I liked this book because I like animals. I also hate it when animals are hurt or when they are endangered. I feel like this book is also cool and has some new words that I did not know. The author, Kate DiCamillo, is also my favorite author and this is one of my favorite books by her.

                             

Review by COOL@HOCKEY3  

Dork Diaries; tales from a not-so happily ever after

Tales from a Not-So-Happily Ever After by: Rachel Renee Russell is the eighth book in the Dork Diaries series. This book is about a girl named Nikki who has an injury and when she wakes up, she's in a magical fairy tale world! She finds that all her friends have turned into fairy tale characters, including herself. Nikki and her friends go through a long journey to get out of the fairy tale world. But a witch is angry with Nikki for a reason I don’t want to spoil. Nikki goes to a castle to find out how to go back to her world. At the castle she finds her mega crush, Brandon. Read this book to find out what happens next.

I love the Dork Diaries series, but this book is my favorite. I think it would be kind of cool to become a character from a fairy tale. I also love how the author put all of the cool fairy tales into one book! The end is my favorite part because this book is like a fairy tale with all fairy tales inside so at the end, HAPPILY EVER AFTER!

Reviewed by CraftyCoffee

Fantasy books are THE BEST!!!  Dork Diaries; tales from a not-so happily ever after by Rachel Renee Russell, is a book of fantasy fairy-tales that Nicki Maxwell goes through.  But, with their own twists! She passed out during gym, and now, she is in a world of fantasy. There are these fairy tale characters combined from all different stories, but why do they look like Nicki's friends?  Find out in Dork Diaries, Tales from a Not-So-Happily ever after.

This book reminds me of a book series, (That I absolutely LOVE). The name of the series is called Pegasus. It's a fantasy book about Roman and Greek myths. The fantasy part is that a girl named Emily actually MEETS Pegasus.  There is also all different places they visit, like Earth and Olympus! Both the books are very interesting to read. I feel they both have lots of details, so I can imagine lots of things. Even though Pegasus has no pictures, and Dork Diaries has many pictures, I think they are both super fun to read!

Review by Puppy_Girl_101

The Land of Stories- Worlds Collide by Christopher Colfer

In The Land of Stories: Worlds Collide by Christopher Colfer, Alex and Conner have constructed an army to defeat all of the literary characters of their childhood, lead by Captain Hook, The Wicked Witch of the West, and The Queen of Hearts. Right as they were heading off to defeat the army, Alex went missing. When Conner finds Alex, she is under an evil spell. Will Conner save Alex or will he be defeated?

I loved how the author painted a vivid image in my mind when I read this book. It all came together no matter how many cliff hangers or how many mysteries there were. When you read this book you will be swept away to a fairy-tale land where danger and magic are in the air. When I was little and still to this day I love fairy tales! This book made me feel happy, scared, and sad all at the same time. If you love fairy tales definitely read this book! I definitely recommend this book and series! Hope you read it!

Reviewed by #1landofstoriesfan

Whatever After Sink or Swim by Sarah Mlynowski

Sarah Mlynowski writes amazing books. The books are filled with chapters that are so interesting and will draw you into the book. When you read Whatever After Sink or Swim, you can’t put it down!  Abby and her brother Jonah have a magic mirror in their basement that brings them to a fairy tale world, from Beauty and the Beast to the Little Mermaid!

In this book they go to the fairy tale land of the Little Mermaid. I have seen the movie the Little Mermaid. The sad thing is that mermaids aren't real. But I have been in the ocean before. Will Abby and Jonah save the Little mermaid?

By : Soccer_is_life_1234

Life of Zarf: the Trouble With Weasels by Rob Harrell

Life of Zarf: the Trouble With Weasels by Rob Harrell was an entertaining adventure and the first of a new series that is sure to be very popular. This fractured fairy tale is one of the RICBA 2016 nominees. Readers will love the funny comicstrip style drawings that add to the story of Zarf, a troll who is at the bottom of the popularity scale in his school. When he has a run in with Prince Roquefort, Zarf is left with his two only friends Kevin (a pig, and descendent of "The Three Little Pigs") and Chester (a not-so-funny court jester). Zarf's problems multiply as the prince challenges him to a joust, Snuffweasels capture the king, and Zarf ends up behind bars in the dungeon. Read to find out if the hot-tempered troll can save himself and the kingdom, and prepare to laugh a lot along the way.

Reviewed by Mrs. Castro

Dr. Ernest Drake’s Dragonology Handbook by Ernest Drake, edited by Dugald Steer

Do you believe in dragons?  Do you want to find them?  If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you should read Dr. Ernest Drake’s Dragonology Handbook.  This is the perfect book for a wanna-be dragonologist.  This book is informational and tells you pretty much everything you want to know about dragons.  These wonderful creatures come from all over the world!  Dragons are some of the cleverest creatures on Earth.  Want to know why they are clever?  They make it hard for people to find them, plus, they can find treasure.  When I read this book I was like “OMG!!!! This book is super duper super-duper super-duper super-duper epic!!!!!!!!!” and I was sooo excited. If you really like dragons, I definitely recommend this book.

Reviewed by DRAGON-NINJA

Rump by Liesl Shurtliff

Rump by Liesl Shurtliff is based on the story of Rumpelstiltskin.  What a wonderful spin on a well known tale.  I loved the characters in this magical 2015 Rhode Island Children's Book Award Nominee.   The author did a great job of adding a fresh perspective to the story.  I especially liked the gnomes and trolls.  I found it very amusing to imagine little gnomes running around delivering memorized messages to people, kind of like text messages sent by person.  A totally fun and surprisingly touching story of young Rump trying to find the rest of his name.

Reviewed by Mrs. Castro

James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl

In the book James and the Giant Peach, written by Roald Dahl and illustrated by Lane Smith, there is a boy named James and his parents die.  So he has to live with his two aunts.  He says that his life is not good at all.  He gets seeds/bugs and drops them near a peach tree.  Then let’s just say he goes on a huge adventure in a peach.  I thought this book was exciting and funny.  You’ll have to read the book to find out what happens.  Enjoy!

Reviewed by ptvlover123

Bella at Midnight by Diane Stanley

Bella at Midnight was written by Diane Stanley.  Bella's mother dies during her birth and her father, who is a knight, can not bear to even look at her.  Her aunt takes her to a loving blacksmith's family to be raised by them.  Thinking she is the daughter of a peasant, Bella is happy through her childhood and even becomes best friends with Prince Julian.  All of that changes on the day she is sent for by her cruel father to return to her rightful place as the daughter of a knight.  What will her new family be like?  Will she be happy, or will she miss Julian and the family who has raised her?  What dangers will she face to help the people she loves?

 

I have always loved stories set in the times of kings and queens.  Adventure, magic, romance and danger combine to make this a great story.  You will cheer Bella on as a strong female character, who fights against the path her life has taken.  Once you read this book, it should remind you of another famous story.  Do you know which one?

Reviewed by Mrs. Castro

Kenny and the Dragon by Tony Diterlizzi

Kenny and the Dragon by Tony Diterlizzi was a really great book.  You might know TONY DITERLIZZI by “Spiderwick” because he helped make that book with Holly Black.  Well back to my book, lets see, this book is really good because Kenny(the bunny) lives on a farm and one day his dad smells smoke, so he goes to check it out and he finds out there was a Dragon living in a cave (his name is Grahame).  The dad runs home and yells, “WE NEED TO MOVE NOW!!!!!!!!!”  And his wife says, “Honey calm down, now tell me what happened.” So while Kenny’s dad is saying what happened, Kenny goes to check it out.  He finds out that Grahame is really nice.  Grahame tells Kenny how he came to the world of animals.  One day there was an earthquake and he fell in a HUGE crack in the ground.  He lived on lava rocks until he NEEDED to get out, so he dug and dug till he came to a cave, A.K.A Kenny’s farm. Read to find out what happens next.  

Reviewed by gibby22

Strange Happenings by Avi

Strange Happenings by Avi is a book that is scary, but yet weird.  Strange Happenings isn’t your plain old peculiar story, that all falls together in the end, no sir it has more than one story, and the only thing they have in common is that they’re all strange.  The first story starts off with a boy and a cat and things take a very unusual twist and end up even creepier.  My favorite story in Strange Happenings is Babette the Beautiful.  It’s a great story about a beautiful girl and her life. The rest of the book is your job to find out.  I recommend the book if you like bizarre messed upped stories.

Reviewed by: softballplaya88